Workout of the Day

Apr 05

Take A Stand

What if the way you stand is leading to pain and dysfunction? That hip pain? Low back ache? That weird shoulder?

Standing is about as basic as it gets, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t better and worse ways to go about it. And while it’s common practice to link mysterious injuries or aches and pains to something that must have gone awry in your physical activity regimen, simple things like sitting, laying, walking, and standing are often the bigger culprit in nagging ailments. Yes, deadlifting poorly will absolutely hurt your low back; but to assume that you can sit/lay/walk/stand haphazardly for the 23 hours that you’re not exercising every day and get away with it is a mistake. It’s a simple game of numbers.

A few simple cues give us a good jumping off point for fixing our position when we stand (and this applies neatly to our walking and sitting, too).

1 - Toes forward. You’re not a duck, so don’t stand like a duck.

2 - Butt and abs “lightly active.” Keeping your glutes and abs lightly “activated” (we’ll call it 50% “on”) will set your hips in a good position and prevent any excess curve in your low back.

3 - Head tall, shoulders back and relaxed. Don’t hang your head in front of your body or slump your shoulders forward -- stack your head, spine, hips, and limbs up like a tower of Lincoln Logs.

If you habitually stand in a poor position, this won’t be a simple overnight fix. But, if you can emblazon these simple cues in the back of your mind, you might catch yourself standing like a fool and make the proper adjustments. And who knows, it may just make those mysterious injuries disappear.